A variety of different recreational devices employ wheels, skis, blades or elongated boards to enable movement of a standing or sitting person along an underlying surface. Such devices have different forms in part to enable different types of recreational activity and in part to accommodate to different underlying surfaces which may variously be land, pavement, snow, ice or a body of water.
Prior devices of this kind, such as skateboards, snow boards, surfboards, skis and the like are typically useful only for one specific type of activity. Efforts have heretofore been made to enable use of a given device for more than one activity or to enable use under different weather and/or surface conditions but prior devices of this kind have provided only a very limited degree of adaptability to different activities. Typically such prior devices enable only two alternate uses such as in wheeled devices which can optionally be provided with skids to adapt the device for Winter operation or as in skates which can be restructured for operation as either roller skates or ice skates.
Many persons participate in more than one recreational activity of this kind or their choice of activities may change over a period of time. Skateboarders, for example, may wish to switch to the highly similar activity of snowboarding during Winter or to surfboarding when they have access to a beach. Downhill or alpine skiers may also enjoy water skiing depending on the season and locale. Roller skaters may wish to switch to in-line skates of the type having aligned wheels such as are sold under the trademark ROLLERBLADE.
As a practical matter, persons who wish to participate in a variety of these activities have generally found it necessary to purchase separate items of equipment for each purpose. This can be very costly. Further problems can be encountered in connection with storing and transporting bulky collections of such recreational equipment.
The different types of mobile devices have different arrangements for engaging with the feet of the user. In some cases, such as in many skateboards for example, there are no components for that specific purpose. The users simply stand on the boards as it is necessary that they be able to move their feet on and off the boards for the purpose of propelling the along the ground. Such skateboarders must use their hands to hold the board at their feet while performing "air" maneuvers during which the board leaves the ground. In other activities, such as downhill skiing for example, it has been thought to be necessary that the skier's feet be positively and rigidly fastened to the skis by specialized ski boots and bindings for safety reasons and to assure control. Most skates having some form of positive fastening of the foot to the device which must be unbuckled or unlaced before the foot can be separated from the device. Water skis or boards typically have an intermediate degree of coupling of the skier's feet to the skis or board. The front of the feet are inserted into straps on the skis or board and can easily be withdrawn rearwardly if desired.
Prior arrangements for engaging the persons feet that are necessary and appropriate for one type of activity may be unworkable, unsafe or at best uncomfortable if they are used on devices designed for other activities. Production of a mobile device which is easily adaptable for use in any of a variety of activities of the above discussed kind requires a new form of foot engagement. The engagement should enable secure retention of the device by the user's foot or feet while also enabling instant, unimpeded movement of the foot into engagement and out of engagement with the device. The engagement should preferably provide strong support and protection for the feet in the manner of ski boots without immobilizing the feet relative to the underlying device as occurs during use of ski boots.
Users of many mobile devices of the above described kind must learn new physical skills and this can involve a lengthy training period. Safe control of some such devices can require substantial acrobatic skill on the part of the user. A foot engagement which enhances control of the device and which shortens the learning period would be highly advantageous.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.